283 flood insurance claims·$5.4M paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Smith County, Tennessee. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall events dominates the historical flood profile of Smith County, TN, accounting for 25 out of 32 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general flood events.
Severe weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration illustrates this pattern. On February 27 and 28, 2021, numerous showers and thunderstorms produced flash flooding alongside damaging winds and large hail. Another significant event occurred on February 5, 2020, when heavy rainfall from a strong storm system following an unusually wet January caused widespread flooding across the region.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to locations within FEMA Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county with 179 claims averaging $27,729 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. However, residents in Zone X variants must also heed risk: Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded an average water depth of 21 inches across 13 claims, and Zone X_SHADED properties recorded an average water depth of 19 inches across 28 claims. Homeowners with properties in these mapped zones should evaluate their specific flood risk and insurance coverage regardless of whether they lie within designated high-risk riverine areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Smith County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
220 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2010, with 67 claims and $4.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes and Severe Storms and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
10 NOAA storm reports from Smith County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 3, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 27, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 5, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Dec 23, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Nov 7, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 2, 2017 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 27, 2021. Numerous showers and thunderstorms affected Middle Tennessee during the evening hours on February 27, then again during the afternoon and evening hours on February 28. Several storms became severe and produced damaging winds, large hail, and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Mar 24, 2020. Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours of March 24, including one supercell thunderstorm that tracked through Wayne and Lawrence Counties. Although no severe weather was reported, several incidents of flash flooding occurred.
Flood · Feb 5, 2020. After an unusually wet January, another strong storm system brought more heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe storms to parts of Middle Tennessee on February 5th. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms known as a QLCS (Quasi-linear Convective System) developed in northern Mississippi and moved across southern and eastern Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms spawned 6 weak tornado…
Flash Flood · Feb 6, 2019. Heavy rain and thunderstorms produced 2 tornadoes and widespread flash flooding across Middle Tennessee from the afternoon of February 6 through the early morning hours on February 7. A warm front that had moved northward into Kentucky early in the day on February 6 sank back southward to near the Interstate 40 corridor by the afternoon, sparking numerous showers and thunderstorms along and just north of the front…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Smith County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.